Korg Releases Kaoss Pad Quad
Korg has announced the new Kaoss Pad Quad, a X-Y touchpad-based effect controller times four. The Quad also contains new effects, functions and features that let users create their own combination of Kaoss effects with simultaneous control of up to four effects in real-time using a single fingertip on its touchpad.
As users tap, slide or move their finger across the X-Y touchpad interface, the effect parameters will change, producing dramatic real-time transformations in the sound. The colorful LED touchpad illuminates in an intense variety of colors, which change depending on the state of the effects, the BPM setting and hand motions on the touchpad. Any audio source can be processed: turntables, iPad/iPhone, a MP3 player, a mixing board, an instrument, or even vocals via the unit’s mic input.
The Kaoss Pad Quad allows the user to simultaneously control up to four effects from the touchpad. Each of the four effect modules – Looper, Modulation, Filter and Delay/Reverb – contains five options (plus a module kill), for a total of 1,295 combinations. Effects are chosen directly from the front panel for easy access during live performance. By rhythmically adding successive effects, or switching effects on and off as a song progresses, the Kaoss Pad Quad can add variation and development to the structure of any song. Even the simplest beat can be creatively affected to produce something entirely new.
Another unique feature is the Freeze button, which offers even more versatile control of effects. For each of the four effect modules, Freeze memorizes the position at which the user was last touching the touchpad, effectively “freezing” the state that effect was last in, even after release of the finger. By touching the touchpad again while Freeze is enabled, only the “unfrozen” effects will be controlled.
In addition to more traditional effects (flanger, low/high-pass filter, delay and reverb), the Kaoss Pad Quad offers many new types of effects:
» Multi-Mode Looper for looping a part of a song; the number of beats is controlled by the location touched. Three types of looping are provided: the standard Looper, the Rev Looper (Reverse Looper which plays the looped phrase backward) and the Loop Slicer, which divides the phrase and lets the loop-play only a specific portion. Additionally, users can switch between the different looper types by sliding their finger up and down the touchpad as the loop plays, producing radical new beats on a whim.
» Vinyl Break turntable effects, which allow users to create all the standard turntable rotation effects, including scratching, slow-down/speed up, stop and more.
» Ducking Comp, creating effects of a “ducking compressor,” which has become a staple in music production.
Additionally, the proprietary Auto BPM engine automatically detects the tempo/BPM of the song that’s playing or the audio source. Users can also use the BPM knob to make fine adjustments. Alternatively, the BPM can be set manually using the Tap Tempo function.
The Future: The Quad still only has stereo RCA inputs/outputs, which may hamper some connectivity options and no USB.
The Korg Kaoss Pad Quad Dynamic Effects Processor is available now for $350. More information on the Korg Kaoss Pad Quad.
